Source: DTCC
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) today announced that its Applications Development and Maintenance (ADM) information technology division, the group responsible for developing, managing and testing software used by DTCC and its subsidiaries for all services, has passed a formal assessment to achieve a Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Level 3 rating in six Maturity Level 2 and four Level 3 Maturity process areas.
This internationally recognized assessment from Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute (SEI) means that DTCC's ADM division has established effective, well-defined processes and procedures that not only sustained Level 2 requirements in project management and software development, but also reached the more rigorous Capability Level 3 requirements within four categories of the CMMI disciplines, including:
Process Management
Project Management
Engineering
Support
An independent Lead Appraiser from Borland Software Corporation, certified by the SEI, performed the assessment in conjunction with an appraisal team consisting of DTCC personnel. Throughout 2005, Borland experts worked closely with DTCC senior management to deliver customized process improvement consulting, training, and appraisal services.
"We are committed to excellence in project management and software development and delivery with all of ADM using a standard set of processes, regardless of where staff is located — at our New York City headquarters or any of our back-up, alternate or remote locations," said William Aimetti, managing director and DTCC's Chief Information Officer. "We're very proud of this accomplishment by our technology staff, because this will help DTCC improve organizational processes that better bridge our business and IT teams."
CMMI, the measure of excellence in improving organizational processes in government and industry, is a framework of standards that guide an organization to improve quality and reduce software development costs by using reliable and repeatable processes. CMMI "best practices" enable organizations to link management and technology initiatives to business objectives, enhancing the product life cycle to ensure that products and services meet customer expectations. Firms are rated from Level 1 (the lowest level of software development standards) to Level 5 (the highest). In 2004, DTCC applied the "Staged model" to achieve a CMMI Maturity Level 2 rating. In 2005, DTCC applied the "Continuous model" to achieve its Capability Level 3 ratings.
CMMI combines disciplines such as software and systems engineering and dovetails with other process-improvement methods used elsewhere in DTCC, including Six Sigma and the Software Implementation Lifecycle (SILC).
"With our CMMI accomplishments to date, DTCC is in an elite class, especially among financial services firms, and we will be implementing additional Level 3 processes in 2006 as part of DTCC's continuing process improvement program," Aimetti said.